sound card?

[chaosassualt]

what is it for? casue im building a comp and i was wondering if the motherboard came with a sound card casue i use headphones and sometimes speakers

 

[pillar]

hey chaosassault, all motherboards come w/ onboard sound, but if you wish to get an internal or external sound card to boost your experience, then go for it. sound cards really are for movie enjoying experience (if you have surround sound speakers), heavy music listener, or hardcore gamer. if you dont fit in 1 of those categories, then i wouldnt suggest gettin a sound card & just stay w/ the onboard sound.

 

[chaosassualt]

are there onboard speakser anywhere on the comp or do u have to buy speakers or can u use headphones?

 

[Ma$termind]

Most modern motherboards come equipped with onboard SPUs... You don't need a separate sound card unless you are unhappy with the quality of the onboard sound (or need special connection ports, which it sounds like you don't).

On a side note, are you sure you want to build your own computer, from top to bottom, if you didn't know that? It sounds like it might be better for you to at least buy a base computer and then upgrade it for gaming, or just use a custom gaming rig service, such as Uberclok (eGO sponsor), or IBuyPower (who has pretty reasonable prices).

EDIT:

are there onboard speakser anywhere on the comp or do u have to buy speakers or can u use headphones?

...Most all will have 3.5mm jack plugs for speakers and headphones. And, yes, you need to buy your own speakers.

 

[xenophek]

Sound cards are standalone devices for you to get sound from your system. While for most people onboard sound will work just fine, I can assure you that a decent sound card will make all the difference. If you have the speakers to prove it, that is.

 

[chaosassualt]

i want to build my own casue i want the experience :]
theres always a first time :]

 

[pillar]

best way 2 build ur own is by supporting eGO by shopping newegg. we get anywhere from 2-5% of your purchase from newegg, so def head there.

 

[chaosassualt]

ya all my stuff is on newegg :]
by the way does anyone know how to apply thermal grease?

 

[Lance]

I've never experimented with it, but supposedly a separate sound card gives a slight performance boost too as it has it's own "processor" instead of using the computer's processor (like the onboard).